Tatton party

The North's great garden party, RHS Tatton Flower Show, kicks off next week and I can only hope that the weather improves before then. Today in Cumbria it is wet, windy and quite cold, so no gardening this weekend. Hopefully it will blow itself out before Press Day on Wednesday. Tatton is our own Flower Show and we always look forward to it because its a chance to meet up with all the northern nursery owners, gardeners and designers. Its our own showcase for northern talent and each year has gone from strength to strength. So, no matter what the weather does, I have packed my bags, notebooks, camera and pencils and I am ready for a great party.

It's seven years since the Trentham Estate was taken over by St Mowden with the aim of completely restoring this once magnificent estate which originally belonged to the Duke of Sutherland. I first saw Trentham in that first year and there was much to do but already a lot of progress made. After seven years you can appreciate how the gardens have matured and a visit today is highly recommended. Trentham's dramatic resurrection has been led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners, Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolk, who along with Trentham Gardens Manager, Michael Walker, have revitalised the Italianate grandeur with a stylish modern interpretation, to create one of the largest examples of contemporary naturalist perennial planting in Europe.

They are a lovely team at Trentham led by the energetic Michael and I am sure that the garden will go from strength to strength in the coming years. To find out more about Trentham, ticket prices, events etc log onto their site at: www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens

If you are in to Chilli then you might like to go along to West Dean's Chilli Fiesta between 5th to 7th August at West Dean Gardens, Nr Chichester, West Sussex. Three days of Chilli madness from farming food, live music and salsa dancing, with an array of over 200 peppers to spice up your day. There is also a Treefest at the National Arboretum, Westonbirt, between 26th and 29th August, with four days of woodworking, music and camping, crafts and of course fab trees. Westonbirt is home to the National Japanese Maple (Acer) Collection and is run by the Foresty Commission. So two good venues there if you are in those areas.

Congrats., to two young men who will be representing Team Uk at the WorldSkills London 2011 in Landscape Gardening this October. Simon Abbott and James Cuffey, have been chosen to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the UK. Simon comes from Doncaster and is self-employed and James comes from Downpatrick, N.I., and works for a landscaping firm. WorldSkills 2011 is the world\s largest international skills competition for young people with 1,000 competitors from over 50 countries taking part over four days. There are some 37 skills ranging from Obile Robotics, Electrical Installations to Graphic Design and of course Landscape Gardening. So good luck to Simon and James as the make their preparations for the competition.

You will be able to see a full report on RHS Tatton on our website: www.recklessgardener.com
but in the meantime, happy gardening.